They arrived at King’s Cross Station at half past ten. Jinmyun had stacked both of the boys’ luggage onto one cart and wheeled it into the station for them, all while reminding them that “If anyone dares to be mean to you, don’t hesitate to punch them in the face.”

“Dad, we use wands.” said Seungsoo, rolling his eyes, “We don’t just fist-fight it out.”

“Well, back at Durmstrang, we used to—”

“Alright, alright.” interrupted Yoora, clapping her hands together with a smile on her face, “Here we are, platform nine and three-quarters. And the barrier should be here somewhere...”

“Aren’t we going to wait for that Park kid?” asked Seungsoo, pulling off his luggage and going around to search for the barrier, “He’s in Kyungsoo’s year, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, and they should be here by now…” Jinmyun muttered, “They’re not hard to miss, the entire family’s damn tall— Ah!”

“HEY JINMYUN!” a deep voice thundered from behind Kyungsoo, giving him a scare.

“CHANJOO!” His father yelled back, waving his hand high up in the air.

Park Chanjoo was easily the most noticeable person Kyungsoo had seen so far. He was wearing long dress robes in thick horizontal stripes of bright yellow and black. An enormous picture of a wasp was splashed across his chest. He had the look of a powerfully built man gone slightly to seed; the robes were stretched tightly across a large belly he surely had not had in the days when he had attended Durmstrang with Jinmyun. His nose was squashed, but his large eyes, frizzy hair, and rosy complexion made him look like a very overgrown schoolboy.

“Ahoy there!” Chanjoo called happily. He was walking as though he had springs attached to the balls of his feet and was plainly in a state of wild excitement. “Jinmyun, my man,” he laughed as he reached the Do family, “what a day, eh? What a day! Our sons are going off to school together, and it’s very good to see you again!”

“Hey there, Chanjoo.” Jinmyun greeted cheerfully, the other father waved back with a smile.

“So how’s life been treating ya?” Chanjoo asked as he shook hands with Jinmyun excitedly, “Heard you went and got yourself a promotion! Head of Magical Law Enforcement, if I’m not wrong?”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” said Jinmyun, laughing as he turned to his family, “This is Park Chanjoo everyone, Head of Muggle Relations at the Ministry, we went to Durmstrang together. And I think you remember his son, Chanyeol?”

Park Chanyeol was an eccentric but strangely handsome boy around Kyungsoo’s age. With his bright eyes and an overwhelming height, Kyungsoo honestly felt a bit intimidated.

“Hey, wassup.” said Chanyeol awkwardly, looking around at them all. Everybody said hi back except for Kyungsoo, who merely nodded. He couldn’t quite get over how deep Chanyeol’s voice was.

“Oh Merlin, would ya look at the time! Well, the kids better be off or they’ll miss their trains!” said Chanjoo, raising his pocket-watch.

“That’s right dears, now go on, it’s that barrier over there.” urged Yoora gently, patting each one of them (including Chanyeol) on the head, “Come on now, Seungsoo, you go first... Have a good year, darling.”

“Alright mum, see you at Christmas.” said Seungsoo happily, pulling his luggage behind with him as he walked briskly towards the barrier, he was almost there— and then, quite suddenly he wasn’t anywhere.

“Now then, Chanyeol, you’re off, be sure to wait for Kyungsoo on the other side, alright?” said Chanjoo as he gave his tall son a push, “And write home often, ya hear me?”

“Sure, dad.” Chanyeol smiled, “Seeya!”

He marched toward platforms nine and ten. Kyungsoo watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it— but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, Chanyeol had vanished.

“Mum,” said Kyungsoo, alone with his luggage and Dio, “Do I just—”

“Dear, all you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared, or you'll crash into it.” Yoora said, giving her younger son a tight squeeze, “Have a good year, alright? Be sure to make lots of friends and we’ll see you at Christmas.”

“Alright.” said Kyungsoo, gripping his luggage tighter, “I’ll see you then.”

“And son, before I forget.” Jinmyun said as his ruffled Kyungsoo’s hair, “Don’t worry too much about your sorting, we’ll love you no matter what.”

“That’s right.” agreed Yoora.

“Mm.” hummed Kyungsoo, starting off into a walk, “I’ll be off now.”

He pulled on his luggage and Dio’s cage, then started to walk towards the barrier. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Kyungsoo walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble-- he broke into a heavy run—  the barrier was coming nearer and nearer—  he wouldn't be able to stop — he closed his eyes ready for the crash.

It didn’t come. He kept on running... he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Kyungsoo looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it, He had done it.

Beside him was Chanyeol, whose smile Kyungsoo found strangely comforting at this moment.

“Then, Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol boomed excitedly in his deep voice, “Off to Hogwarts we go?”

“...Off to Hogwarts we go.” agreed Kyungsoo with a small smile, as they both pulled their luggages towards the steaming train.

***

“So let’s go over this one more time.” said Chanyeol tirelessly, pointing at the occupants of their very crowded train compartment.

“I’m Chanyeol, this is Baekhyun, and that’s Yixing.”

Kyungsoo sighed internally.

He and Chanyeol had arrived on the train twenty minutes ago; they’ve settled their luggage in one of the lower-hand storages, and waddled their way up to the very end of the train, where Chanyeol had said his friends would be waiting. True to his word, when Chanyeol pushed open the sliding doors, there were already two boys around their age stuffing themselves with chocolate frogs and other confectionaries.

Chanyeol had introduced Yixing first. The Chinese boy greeted Kyungsoo warmly with a gentle smile, and had proceeded to offer him a chocolate frog, which Kyungsoo accepted gratefully. The second boy was one of those rowdier types, called Byun Baekhyun, (“My bestest friend in the whole world!” Chanyeol had proclaimed.) with styled hair, well-timed jokes, and a confident smile, Baekhyun was the polar opposite of Kyungsoo.

The four of them had hit off surprisingly well, exchanging stories and personal backgrounds with lots of laughing and joking. However, the energetic atmosphere came to a regretful halt when Chanyeol decided that it was a good idea to go around a circle, and repeat their basic facts over and over again so that everyone could memorize them.

“I’m Park Chanyeol, third year in Gryffindor!” said Chanyeol happily for the fifth time today, “Also Beater of the Gryffindor Quidditch team!”

The entire compartment gave next to no reaction, save for Yixing’s quiet munching of chocolate frogs, and Baekhyun’s occasional attempts at clapping to raise the mood.

“It’s your turn, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol nudged his friend in the arm, “Go go!”

“...erm, I’m Baekhyun, which you’ve probably figured out by now, because I’ve repeated this like five times… I’m a third year in Gryffindor, I like potions, and— I guess that’s it?” said Baekhyun half-heartedly, scratching his hair.

“I’m Yixing, in fourth year and a Hufflepuff, I sometimes hang out with these guys,” Yixing said gently to Kyungsoo, gesturing at the duo beside them. “But not that often recently, they’re both sort of really hyper around each other.”

“Yeah, so hyper.” muttered Baekhyun sarcastically as he slumped deeper into his seat, “Wooo.”

“It’s your turn, Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol said, eyes beaming.

“My name’s Do Kyungsoo…” he began, fingers playing with his chocolate frog card, “third year, just transferred from Beauxbatons, and I don’t know which House I’m in yet… but I’m good at charms and transfiguration—?”

“You know what, I think we should start a bet.” said Baekhyun suddenly, a wild sort of gleam in his eyes.

“Oh Merlin not another—”

“This is literally like the six hundredth time Baekhyun—”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened as complaints filled the room, was Baekhyun bad at betting?

“Shouldn’t we bet on which house Kyungsoo will go into?” Baekhyun prompted, ignoring the complaints, “I CALL RAVENCLAW!”

“...Then I’ll go with Hufflepuff.” Yixing muttered, “I want someone else in my house too…”

“I’M BETTING ON GRYFFINDOR!” yelled Chanyeol as he slapped the sides of his seat, “WE’RE IN DESPERATE NEED FOR ANOTHER BEATER!”

“So ten Galleons each?” asked Baekhyun, already searching for his money pouch.

“What?” exclaimed Yixing, staring straight at Baekhyun sitting across from him, “Isn’t that a bit too much? Do you know how many pots of Mandrakes you could get for that money?”

“It’s all fun and no bite, Yixing!” Chanyeol said merrily, pulling out ten large golden coins and laying them on the table, “And we’ll be buying each other Christmas presents anyway, so the money doesn’t really stay in one place.”

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